About this page
This page contains brief details about the video recording; the videos (embedded in the page); an abstract for the talk; links to additional resources; a summary and a speaker biography.
Video recording of talk
Recording of a Morris Federation talk on “How Can IT Help Your Side?” by Brian Kelly held on Zoom on 15 January 2023. The #MorrisFedvideo last for 26 minutes and 13 minutes.
Video
Abstract
You probably want to recruit new dancers or musicians. Or you want event organisers to easily find details of your side.
So if details of your side were to be found in the first few results for a Google query such as “looking for a mixed morris side in Dorset which welcomes new members” you’d be very happy. Especially if the first result included photographs and videos of your side.
That problem has been solved – even if your side does not have a website (in brief: add appropriate words and upload photographs and videos to your Morris Federation’s Teamfinder service).
And this approach can also be used so that your side’s hashtag leads to managed information about your side – for example, try a Google search for “#newcastlekingsmen” or “#wyldmorris”
This is one example of the work being carried out by the Morris Federation to support their sides (and the wider Morris community) in exploiting online services. Other areas can be seen from the range of advisory documents published on the Morris Federation’s IT Resources area.
We have also published a number of surveys of use of online services across the community, which can be helpful in identifying areas of best practice and areas in which improvements can be made.
The “How Can IT Help Your Side?” Zoom workshop builds on this work, and provided an opportunity for you to identify areas in which you’d like to know more about – as well as areas in which you have expertise which you’d be willing to share.
Additional resources
Links to related resources:
Speaker biography
Brian Kelly is probably best known in the Morris and Rapper world for his performances as a comic character with the Newcastle Kingsmen, having won many DERT prizes with Chris Pitt and the Kingsmen over 30 years of performing together, not only at DERT events and festivals including Broadstairs, Whitby and Sidmouth. Brian has also taken part in overseas trips to folk festivals in places including Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Syria. Brian now dances mainly with Haymarket Rapper.
During his working life, Brian worked in IT and became known for setting up probably the first university website in the UK (in 1992, when fewer than 100 companies have published details of their website!). In 1996 he was employed at UKOLN, University of Bath as UK Web Focus, a national adviser about the web for UK universities. Brian gave over 400 talks during his time at UKOLN throughout the UK and at conferences around the world. He particularly remembers attending a conference in Brisbane, Australia when the technical infrastructure (the ‘page ranking) for a new search engine developed at Stanford University – yes, it was Google. So he knows a fair bit about Google!
Brian is now enjoying using his IT and web skills and experiences to support the Morris Federation, Morris Federation team members and the wider Morris, sword and traditional dance communities.
If you have any questions for Brian about his IT work for the Morris Federation feel free to send him an email to comms-it@morrisfed.org.uk
Summary
- Title: How Can IT Help Your Side?
- Speaker: Brian Kelly
- Facilitator: Pauline Woods-Wilson
- Type: IT
- Date of talk: 15 January 2023
- Date page published: 19 April 2023
- Video edited by: Brian Kelly
#MFvideo #MorrisFedvideo #MorrisFedvideos #MFDDT
